


Queen of Fey

by FictionWriterD



Category: Original Work
Genre: Celtic, Environmentalism, Fairies, Fairy, Fairy Tale Elements, Gen, Ireland, Magical Girls, Manga
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-15 16:27:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29192298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FictionWriterD/pseuds/FictionWriterD
Summary: After receiving the mystical and powerful magic of the Fairy Queen (as well as her handsome--albeit troublesome--bodyguards), Aoife O'Massey life as a teenager went from normal to anything but.  As the new ruler of the Fairies hidden in the lands around her, she has more on her plate than any typical teenager should have.  Yet will her new guards and powers be enough for her first real test against the dark power of a monster created from both dark magic and human recklessness to nature?





	1. Chapter 1

The Irish countryside, in the forests far from civilization, a class of students were going on a field trip.

"And this is where back before all of us were born, tales of a kingdom of Fey were told to children," said the guide as he led the group of middle school kids through the woods, speaking rather boorishly about the instructive sentences he was supposed to say from his pamphlet. No doubt he had been doing this multiple times a day for a long time and had lost any enthusiasm for it long ago.

Still, the day was good for a walk. Clear skies after a storm and the temperature, while cool was tolerable. The forest around the group was lush and green with the coming of proper spring weather, even if many in the group didn't pay attention to such fine details.

The instructor named Ishka Maynard, a surprisingly handsome young man with short raven hair and wearing a deep blue suit, looked ready for a corporate meeting than a trek through the forest. He kept his eyes forward, occasionally looking back to make sure his class was following him. He knew hardly any of them actually paid any attention to the guide but he made sure they humored him when called upon.

Towards the back of the group were three boys huddled together, trying to avoid attention but nevertheless they were arguably the center of it. All three were good looking to the point where the girls in the group could hardly go a minute without getting a look at them. Gail, Tine, and Quilo were three new students who arrived at the same time as Ishka, and they were the talk of the school.

Being the center of the wrong attention never set well with Tine, the red headed delinquent whose attitude was as fiery as his hair. "Can we please get on with this field trip? What's the point of comin'ere anyway?"

Gail was the one with thin rimmed glasses and his dark green school uniform was tidy if not a bit damp from walking through the forest. He liked to be presentable unlike Tine. He pushed his glasses up the rim of his nose, intending to give his friend the answer he desperately wanted. "Because we have to maintain our cover, and to do so we must blend in...no matter how much it irritates you."

Tine got up in Gail's face, "What you implying', Gail?"

The young man with the glasses chuckled, knowing he had gotten under his skin. Those two were like fire and water and didn't mix well.

"Knock it off you two," said Quilo before putting his hands in his trouser pockets. Unlike Gail he dressed more free, with his jacket unbuttoned and undershirt showing as well as having ditched the tie. He also wore a silver Celtic cross around his neck instead, giving him a more rugged look. His hair was black and short, and his blue eyes looked like sapphires in the sunlight. "I don't like being here for no good reason either, but put up or shut up."

Tine and Gail turned toward the third man, both with different looks but they both meant the same emotion: irritation.

"Besides If you would stop bickering you would have noticed that something is missing," said Quilo before correcting himself, "More like someone is missing."

Both boys' eyes went wide as they realized who the man meant. Then they turned from irritation to near panic.

To make matters worse Ishka approached them and asked a very specific question aloud, his tone one of extreme displeasure. "Where is she? Where is Aoife?"

Having been put to watch over the girl and noticing she was gone was alike a brick wall through glass. None of them had an answer. And they were in trouble because of it.

The girl the four were talking about turned out to be not so far away. A girl with long wavy copper red hair that was in a ponytail and light freckles under her emerald green eyes, Aoife O'Massey was enjoying the peace and quiet of the nature around her. The sound of nature filled the air and were she being honest she wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Being in the peace the forest offered made her feel so comfortable it was amazing. The birds were chirping, as were the bugs (which she wasn't a fan of but they added to her comfort so long as they were far away from her), and with the breeze the sound of the trees rustling added to the serenity of the land of Eire. This was one of the reasons that she loved her homeland and why its beauty was earned and revered the world over.

Aoife sat down on a fallen log and looked around. She had been on her own for the last few minutes of her own accord. Though she was far from the rest of her class she wasn't afraid of being lost. 'I've been here before, so I know all the routes back to safety should I ever get lost.'

She was confident in her assessment and returned her mind to the atmosphere she had walked into. Yet through all she recognized she swore there were a few things she couldn't understand that caught her senses.

She thought at times she could hear little voices coming from the forest, and felt like there were eyes watching her from out of her own sight. Weeks ago she would have laughed at the idea, but nowadays she had little to argue with it.

"There you are."

Aoife turned her head back over her shoulder to see Ishka approaching her. "Ishka?"

"You caused a bit of a stir when no one could find you, miss Aoife," he said with a pure instructor sounding tone. Obviously he wasn't happy with her, but not to the point of where he was mad.

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself. The group was a wee bit noisy for my liking," said the teenage girl before turning back to the forest. "I needed some peace."

"Honestly I can't blame you. Being around Tine and Gail is enough to drive someone insane," said the instructor with a smile. He understood being around his colleagues was like a chore that was on rinse and repeat every single day. The three boys were currently looking for Aoife while the rest of the students returned to the bus with the guide. Ishka had volunteered to look for her as well. "But what brought you here?"

"Well, ever since I was a little girl I always appreciated the world around me. I felt at home when in a place like this, and I would stay for hours just enjoying..." she raised her hands up and smiled, "...this."

"Lover of nature, I see," said the man, privately appreciating the sentiment.

"Your home is like this, isn't it? I mean-" Aoife looked around to see if anyone else was nearby before continuing. "You're a fey, you live in the forest."

Ishka chuckled lightly, "Fey live with nature yes, but we aren't exactly confined to it. How else did you meet up with us?"

Remembering what had happened a few weeks ago Aoife sighed, "Honestly as much of a believer as I am, I never thought I would meet any fairies or magical elements. I thought it was all just stories."

Ishka had a simple answer for that, "All one needs to do is look a bit deeper, and magic isn't hard to find." The young man stepped forward, his eyes looking beyond the images seen by the naked eye as well as what humans could see without magic. While humans would see and hear nature at its barest Ishka as well as his three friends could see below the surface. They could see what was hidden.

Within moments of seeing that the area was safe for them to reveal themselves, the hidden creatures of the Fey began to emerge, slowly but surely. Creatures big and small hid in the trees and moved carefully, avoiding detection by most humans but not Aoife, who saw what could have been bugs flying about but upon close examination she noticed that they were not bugs but little people with butterfly like wings flying around her. Green skinned humanoids the size of the palm of her hands with black almond eyes but beautiful to look at flew around the girl.

Extending her hand Aoife grew ecstatic as the fairy landed in her hand. The little creature bowed respectfully, no trouble recognizing the human girl as her Queen before flying away and out of sight.

The Fey (or fairies) were the essence of nature itself, and they were the true children of Mother Earth. They had been considered nothing but fairy tales for many centuries and their presence known only to a few select humans. Aoife had found out that secret by complete accident, or it was fate that decided to had to know. She had been tending to her school's garden the day her life changed forever, and she had found out about the world hidden in plain sight.

All because Titania, the Queen of the Fey, had chosen her to be the successor to her power before she died. Aoife had been given a great power, as well as protection by Ishka, Gail, Quilo, and Tine until that time which she did not know. As excited as she was about knowing that fairies actually existed, the burden of the power of Titania had weighed heavily on her fifteen year old shoulders. Not only that but she also had to keep the secret of that world to herself from everyone around her.

What a life to have, huh?

"I just hope that the queen didn't choose the wrong girl to give this power to," Aoife said as she stood up. Dusting the back of her skirt off of dirt she gave a confident look to Ishka. "But I will do my best to prove my worth."

"I was the Queen's confidant for many years. I assure you she wouldn't have chosen you if you weren't worthy." Her optimism and determination bought Ishka's confidence and she had proven herself worthy of his late Queen's power so far. The other three he wasn't so sure about yet, but they had not complained outside of the menial things of pretending to be humans on the side. "Just remember we're here to help however we can. No matter what danger befalls the denizens of the Green."

That statement gave Aoife a thought that troubled her. "And what dangers will I have to confront to protect it? Evil fey?"

Ishka nodded, but added something more disturbing. "That, and much worse." He secretly hoped she wouldn't find out, but he knew better than to hope. As the new Queen of the Fey, Aoife would be forced to face the new trials that came with such power whether she liked it or not.

Clearing his throat Ishka remembered why he was out here. To maintain his cover and be the teacher he was supposed to be as well as one of Aoife's protector's. "But we should get back to the rest of the class."

Aoife agreed and skipped ahead of Ishka, who remained in place to give one last prophetic thought.

'I just hope she is ready for the horrors that would be heading her way...'

Ishka wasn't wrong, as in not all Fey were of good mannered towards life.

There were those who wished nothing more than to destroy Mother's Earth's precious creations.

Yet as strong as this evil was, it could not do the damage it sought alone. It needed a little help from those who also shared the planet.

A dozen miles from the forest, a collection of factories were continuing with their work day. Not in a good way either. Though the people inside didn't know it, the damage they were unwittingly doing to the environment was quietly taking effect in a way nature never intended. The gases and pollution were turned into weapons that humanity had supplied in great number.

Another element was the added was that of a dark magic. This magic, bent on turning the land sick with disease and death, turned human carelessness and folly into a tragedy that was about to unfold.

It came from two ways. The first via the water, where chemicals were not maintained and poisoned the flow going into a nearby stream. That stream went for miles into the dense forest and, powered by the dark powers of destruction, killed all vegetation that it came into contact with. The second was by air, filtered from the smoke stacks of the industrial region, that was unknowingly flowing out of a clogged pipe system at the rear of the factory. That too was taken by the magic and used as fog of misery that came down on the forest like an avalanche.

Both were silent killers, where both fauna and flora alike succumbed to the poison as it passed through. Those animals that sensed what was coming had little time to get to safety before they were run over by the cloud.

Following behind the cloud was the one behind the infernal event, a being made of the pollution and magic unleashed. Humanoid but emotionless, mindless save for the thought of destroying the Green.

Decay had arrived, and he was after the Queen...


	2. Chapter 2

Lunch was being served in a picnic area deep within the forest. The air had gotten warmer but luckily the sun wasn't shining brightly because of the clouds and trees. That allowed the students to enjoy their meals without too much to complain about.

Well, except for the group with Aoife. She sat with her hands on her lap, her meal still in her lunchbox, and with an annoyed expression on her face. That's because Tine and Quilo were going at it again and causing a scene while Gail was reading a book smiling like a Cheshire cat. Ishka had also come over to sit with them but he eventually had to go and check on the other students. That left the teenage girl alone with dealing with the three delinquents.

It was a task she was woefully under prepared for. And it was for the stupidest reason they were fighting. The matter of their problem? Who got to sit next to Aoife as she ate her lunch.

"Who said you get to sit next to her, Tine?" said Quilo who was staring at the crossed armed and very annoyed fire wielder.

"I didn't see your name on the seat, Quilo, so buzz off," he replied.

Bringing her hands to cover her face in shame, Aoife could hear other students at tables nearby gossiping about her and the relationship she must have with the guys if they were fighting over sitting privileges. So much so that they tried to sit in the small space and were literally throwing each other off in an attempt to make the spot theirs. It got so quickly out of hand and ridiculous that Aoife lowered her head to the table. Honestly she wanted to curl up into a ball and just roll somewhere else.

"You two are suck nitwits."

Aoife raised her head in time to see a very displeased Ishka grab the two students by their ears and life them from the table. Though such an action would more than likely be considered questionable for a teacher to lay a hand on a student in such a way Aoife was nonetheless glad when he pulled them away from the table and sat down in the spot next to her. He gave the girl an apologetic look before going ahead to eat his own lunch. The other guys, who had fallen in the dirt, felt dejected and sat and pouted on the ground.

"After we finish eating we'll all head to the nearby stream for some lessons on Fey circles before we head home," said the instructor.

Aoife's eyebrows shot up. "Fey circles?" Her voice had a high level of excitement in it that did not go unnoticed. "The circle of stones said to be left by fairies to protect certain areas of their home?"

Ishka nodded. He was quite familiar with how the humans thought of their culture, though they were largely correct there were some inconsistencies. He was more than happy to correct them whenever the need popped up. "Close enough, but the circles were more often than not used as meeting points for fairies to convene with the Green itself. They also serve as protection circles in case they needed to hide."

"Some of them are thousands of years old. Surprises me that humans have decided to leave them be instead of knocking them around." Tine got up and just stood at the end of the table. His right ear was still red and his jacket dirty. Quilo went around and sat down next to Gail who still kept his eyes glued to the pages of his book.

"Personally I am glad they leave them be. It's a great part of history that something so small could last as long as it has." Aoife quickly ate her lunch which was quite small but consisted of a ham sandwich and a handful of chips.

"Yeah but with how destructive your people tend to be-" Tine began to say, his voice with much venom in it before Ishka got to his feet.

"No more talk of that."

The authority the man had over Tine should have been enough to silence him but begin the hothead he was he kept going.

"Why? Humans cause more harm then any good they could ever do to the Green and they go living as if nothing is wrong. All the while-" he lowered his voice before continuing. "All the while our people suffer."

Aoife knew what he meant. Being an environmental sympathizer she tried her hand at keeping the planet healthy, but she was just one against billions. She wanted the world to remain beautiful but she was just an Irish girl with high hopes against something that could possibly never change.

Still, she wouldn't let that stop her. "And yet there are those who do try to help. Like me."

Aoife stood up and though she was a few inches shorter than Tine she did not back down from facing him. "Not all of us are careless. Some of us try to help no matter how much the deck is stacked against us. I'll keep trying to keep the planet alive even if it amounts to very little being achieved."

Her tone was familiar to Ishka, reminding him of the late Queen and he couldn't help but smile at the thought. Tine on the other hand was taken aback by her words and forced himself to look away almost in shame. Gail lowered his book. Having heard the entire conversation he looked up at Aoife with admiration.

Feeling the rush leave her body but not wanting to sit down Aoife instead got out from the table. "I'm going for a walk."

Her stride was so heavy footed that she almost stomped away from the table. More than a handful of eyes watched her as she left before returning to their own business.

With their charge gone Ishka turned to Tine. He was not pleased with him or his attitude. "You're a fool."

Tine crossed his arms over his chest. "What did I do?"

Gail closed his book and spoke in a soft tone, "Human teenagers, especially teenage girls, are very temperamental. You just had to cross the line with her."

"I only spoke the truth. No harm in that."

With that statement Quilo sent his fist right into the smaller man's shoulder.

Bringing his hand to his shoulder Tine rubbed the new sore spot under his jacket. "OW! What was that for you lummox?!"

Quilo didn't have to explain himself. "You deserve it. Now, go apologize to her."

"WHY?"

Not wanting to explain himself Quilo merely shoved Tine in the direction to which Aoife had gone. Tine merely stumbled a few feet before looking at his allies with a confused look.

Quilo took a seat at the table while Gail simply shrugged his shoulders at him. Ishka, however, had a few choice words for him.

"You better go find her before I make you."

Finally backed into a corner Tine relented and started on his way. "Fine, I'll go. Sheesh, better to go 'fore i get smacked up me noggin for real."


End file.
